Turbotransmission



` June 27, 1944; JANDASEK TURBO TRANSMISSION pFiled May 29,1941

Patented June 27, 19.44

asa-183v UNITED l STATES PATENT OFFICE 'rUano'rnANsmssloN Joseph nadenk,Detroit, man., asignar t nendix Aviation Corporation, South BendJnd., acorporation oi' Delaware' application May zo, 1941, sei-iai No'. 395,749

' (ci. iso-az) l Clim.

This invention relates to power transmitting Vdevices and moreparticularlyto turbomechanisms adapted to divide power delivered from asingle shaft and transmit it to drive a plurality l oispaced shafts toexert unequal driving forces on said shafts.

In the operation of'certain types ofvehicles it is desirable that meansbe provided to permit varying the torque transmitted to the roadengaging members on opposite sides of the vehicle. This unequaldistribution of driving 'torque may be employed in vehicles such astrack vide power transmitting means for dividing the power from anengine to exert .increased driving forces on opposite sides of avehicle.

A further object oi the invention resides in the provision of spacediluid actuated turbopower transmitting devices operably connectedto..drive'jspaced road engaging members of a vehicle and whereinmanually operable means are provided to decrease the eiciency of powertransmission on one side of the vehicle or to increase the torquetransmitted by the unit on the other side of the vehicle to exert asteering force to turn the vehicle.

A further object is to provide successively actuated means forprogressively decreasing the torque. developed by a turbounit on oneside of a vehicle and thereafter applying a brake on the same side ofthe vehicle to exert a force to steer the vehicle.

Another object is to provide a pair of spaced l uid actuatedturboclutches driven by centrally disposed forward and reverse gearingto exert steering forces on opposite sides oi a vehicle, and whereinmanually operable means are provided to progressively decrease theemciency of power transmission of one of the turboclutches therebyautomatically increasing the emciency ofV power transmission of theturboclutchon the other side to exert a steering force on the vehicle.

Yet another object is to provide manually operable valve means forprogressively throttling a power transmitting fluid circuit of aturbounit todecrease the efficiency oi one of a pair of vspaced powertransmitting units and thereafter apply a braking force to exert asteering orceon the vehicle.

Yet a still further object resides in the provision oimanually operablelmeans to increase the torque multiplicationrof a torque converter and toexert a braking force on the opposite side of a vehicle to steer thevehicle.

Another bject is to provide a pair of spaced/ torque converters drivenby centrally disposed forward and reverse gearing wherein control meansare provided to increase the torque multiplication of one of the torqueconverters and thereafter to exert a braking force on the road engagingelements 4on the opposite side of the vehicle, thereby decreasing thetorque transwill be apparent from the following detailed descriptionconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawing, submitted forpurposes of illustration only, and not intended to define the scope ofthe invention, reference being had for that purpose to the subioinedclaims.

In the drawing wherein similar reference characters refer to similarparts throughout the several views:-

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a portion of a power transmittingmechanism embodying the present invention. g Y

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of a modied form of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a iongitudinal `sectional view of the torque convertersutilized ln-connection with the embodiment of the invention illustratedin Fig. 2.

Beforev explaining in detail the` present invention it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited in its application to thedetails of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, since the invention is'capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Alsoit is to be understood that the. phraseoloey or terminology employedherein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, and

it is not intended to limit the invention claimed herein beyond therequirementsloi the prior art.

Referring now to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1,-it will be observed that a power shaft I .0 projects -from a mechanicalgear transmission housed withina case I2 and is provided with a bevelgear Il. The bevel gear Il meshes with and drives spacedj bevel gears I6and I8 concentrically mounted on a driving shaft 20. .The gears I6 andI8 are provided with jaws 22 and 24 respectively adapted to receivecppositely disposed jaws carried by a sliding member 26 splined to thedriving shaft 28. A manually operable lever 28 pivoted as at 28 may beprovided to shift the sliding member 26 into splined to the shaft 2 8and having housings 84 carried by each of the hubs 82. Each of thehousings 84 is provided with an axially extending portion 36concentrically mounted relative to a driven shaft 38. The housing 84 isprovided with a plurality of fluid energizing blades 48 adapted toimpart energy to a `fluid circulating within the husing 84.

An energy absorbing turbine comprising a plurality of spaced turbinevanes 42 carried by a shroud 44 and a hub 46 is splined or otherwisesecurely fastened to the driven shaft 88. The vanes 42 are provided withan axially extending slot 4 8 to receive an axially movable shutter 68carried by a sleeve 52 concentrically mounted between the driven shaft88 and the housing 86 of the impeller members.

Each of the driven shafts 88 is operably connected to a jack shaft 54through suitable universal joints 56. Each of the jack shafts 54 isoperably connected with stub shafts 58 through suitable universal joints68. The stub shafts 68 are provided with pinions 62 meshing with gears64 fixed to an axle 66 provided with sprocket wheels 68. 'I'he sprocketwheel 68 may be provided with a plurality of spaced teeth 18 adapted toreceive and drive endless chains or ground engaging tracks whereby thevehicle may be propolled.

Means may be provided to shift the sleeve 82 axially on the driven shaft88to introduce the The operation of this device when the inven-y tion isapplied to a track lying tractor such, for example, as an armored tank,is as follows: When it is desired to drive the vehicle in the forwarddirection the lever 28 is actuated to interconnect the driving shaft I8with the driving shaft 28 through the gears |4 and i6. The turbdclutches38 operably connected to each end of the driving shaft 28 operate totransmit substantially equal power to eachside of the vehicle wherebythe vehicle is driven in the forward direction. Referring morespecifically to the drawing, it will be observed that the impellerblades 48 energize'the liquid received from the turbines and direct itinto engagement with the turbine vanes 42 operably connected through theturbine hubs 46 with the oppositely directed driven shafts 48.

When it is desired to exert a steering force on the vehicle such, forexample, as to turn the vehicle to the left, the steering wheel 88 isrotated whereupon the pinion gear 82 engaging the rack 90 moves the rod88 in the direction of the arrow |28. Movement of the rod 88 istransmitted through the arm 86, link 84 and upper portion` 82 of thelever 14 to move the sleeve 62v axially relative to the driven shalt 88to introduce the shutter 58 into the slot 48 to progressively throttlethe power transmitting fluid circuit thereby delcreasing the elciencyand quantity of power transmitted by the turboclutch on the left side ofthe vehicle. As the shutter 58 into the slot 48 of the turbine vanes 42thereby progressively throttling the power transmitting fluid circuit ofthe unit to decrease the power transmitted thereby.

One desirable form of means for throttling the power transmitting fluidcircuit comprises a lever 14 fulcrumed at 16 and having a ball 18engaging within a slot 88 of the sleeve 62. The upper end-82 of thelever 14 is pivotally connected through a link 84 and an arm 86 with arod 88 movable laterally in the vehicle. 'Ihe rod 88 is provided with arack 88 adapted to be engaged by a pinion 82 carried bya shaft 84 havinga steering wheel 86. Upon rotation of the steering wheel 96 the rod 881moves laterally to actuate the shutter 68 relative to the powertransmitting fluid circuit.

Liquid pressure inducing means such, for example, as a. cylinder 88having a piston |88 slidably mounted therein is positioned to beactuated by each end of the rod 88 after a substantially predeterminedtravel of the rod 88 .in a clearance space |82 between the end of therod 88 and the piston |88. A liquid reservoir |84 communicates with thecylinder 88 through a port |86 to compensate variation of volume ofliquid within the system due to variation of temperature. through aconduit |88 with a brake cylinder ||8 operably connected to urge a brakeband l||2 into engagement with a brake drum |I4carried by the stub shaft68.

The cylinder 88 is connected power transmitted bythe turbounit on theleft side of the vehicle is decreased, the power transmitted by theturbounit on the right side of the vehicle is proportionately increasedwhereupon a steering force is exerted on the vehicle.

' If a sharper turn to the left is desired than is effected by varyingthe quantity of power transmitted by the turbounits on opposite sides ofthe vehicle, the steering wheel 86 may be rotated further in thecounterclockwise direction whereupon the piston |88 closes the port |86and exerts liquid pressure within the cylinder 88. This pressure istransmitted through the conduit |88 to actuate the cylinder ||8 to applythe brake Vband ||2 to the drum ||4 to slow down or lock the left sideof the vehicle. Greater power is Dillen transmitted through theturbounit on the right side i of the vehicle whereupon steering forceswill be exerted to turn the veh'icle sharply i to the left. To effect aturn to the right the operation is reversed.

Figs. 2 and 3 disclose a modified form of the invention wherein torqueconverters 288 and 282 are driven by a, driving shaft 284 operablyconnected through gears 288 and 288 with a gear 2l8 carried by a drivingshaft 2|2 to effect forward and reverse drive respectively. A shiftingmember 2 I4 axially movable on the shaft 284 and actuated by a lever 2|6fulcrumed as'at 2|1 may be provided to interconnect the forward andreverse gears 286 and 288 respectively with the driving shaft 284.

Referringl now more particularly to Fig. 3, attention is called to thefaict that the torque converters 288 or 282 include impeller housings2|8 having suitable cover plates 288 provided with axially extendinghousing portions 222.y Each of the impeller housings 2|8 is providedwith a plurality of spaced impeller blades 224 adapted to energizeliquid and direct it to suitable rst stage turbine varies 226 carried bya turbine shroud member 228 operably connected through escasos secondstage turbine 234 with a turbine hub 232 llxed to a turbine driven shaft234.

Interposed between the nrst and second-stage guide wheel member 236having a plurality of spaced vaned channel portions 233 and 24| and ashutter 242 adapted to be'selectively introi turbine vanes 226'and 233is an axially movable duced into the power transmitting duid circuitbetween the iirst`stage turbine vanes 22B and the second stage turbinevanes 232.. The guide wheel member 236 is carried by a radiallyextending ilange 244 having a. helically threaded hub portion zu' axiauySmftable on a stationery member 24| having external helical threads toreceive the internal helical threads formed in During the normaloperation ofthe device the guide wheel channel 232 is positioned .in thepower' transmitting uid cli-cuit. The channel 240 is provided withsuitable guide vanes which, when introduced into the power transmittingyfluid circuit, increase the torque transmitted by the device. Theshutter 242 when introduced finto the power transmitting uid circuitthrotties the circuit and interrupts the transmission of power by thedevice.

Means may be provided to control the position l of the guide wheelrelative tothe power trans- Vthe left side of the vehicle.

the. torque-multiplication ofthe device and exertinaareaterdrivins'foi'cev on the road engem!!! members positioned on therightside'of the vehicle. i

Movement of the rod 236 in the direction ot. the arrow 2 92 bymanipulation of the steerins wheel 214 moves Vthe piston 1216 inthecylinder 280 to. exert negative .pressure therein.` This negativepressure is transmitted through` the conduit 26D to exert a suckingforce in the cylinder 264 of the turbounit 200to'urge the pistonoutwardly in the cylinder 254 thereby exerting a force to shift theguide wheel 236 axially to introduce the shutter 242 into the powertransmitting duid circuit and decrease the 1 power transmitted by thetorque converter 230 to drive If a desired degree of turn is noteiiected by increasing and decreasing the power on opposite tion of thearrow 292 whereupon pressure is;

sides of the vehicle, further movement of the steering wheel 214gmovesthe rod 266 in the direcdeveloped in the conduits 286 and 28B. When theconduit 268 is subjected to a substantially predetermined pressure abrake mechanism asso elated with the road engaging members on the leftside of the Avehicle are slowed down or locked mitting iluid circuit.One desirable form of such vcontrol means comprises a .plurality ofspaced pistons 256 having fingers 252 engaging the guide wheel hub 246.The pistons 250 are slldably mounted in cylinders 254 and are maintainedin a substantially predetermined normalposition by springs 256 and258calibrated -to exert forces to maintain the guide wheel in theposition illustrated. The cylinders 254 may be subjected to liquidpressure through conduits 260 and 262 respectively. A Y

Means may be provided to subject the conduits 260 and 262 to varyingdegrees of 'positive and negative pressure to vary the position of theguide wheels 236 relative`to the power transmit-v spectively to exertpressure in conduits 264 and 266 respectivelycommunicating with theconduits 26B and 262 respectively. The conduit 266 also communicateswith a conduit 268 and the conduit 284 communicates with a conduit 290.The conduits 288 and 290 are operably connected to brake mechanismsassociated with the left and right hand sides of the vehiclerespectively.

In the operation of this device when it is desired to exert a force. tosteer the vehicle to the left the steering wheel- 214 is rotated in thecounterclockwise direction whereupon the rod 266 is moved laterallyn thedirection of the arrow 292. The piston 218 moves laterally in thecylinder 282 and exerts positive pressure in the conduit 286. "I'hispressure is transmitted through the conduit262 to the cylinders 254 toactuate the pistons 251i to urge the guide wheel hub 246 axiallytointroduce the guide wheel channel 240 into the power transmitting uidcircuit of the turbounit 202 thereby increasing shaft, a pair of spacedtorque converters having whereupon the increased power exerted on theright side of the vehicle cooperates with the retardedA driving means onthe left side o! the vehicle to produces. force to turn the vehiclerapidly to the left. To effect a turn to the right the operation isreversed. x

One form of uid transmission embodied herei is disclosed in myco-pending. application Serial No. 366,948, iled November 25, 1940. 1claim: i f 1. In a trck laying tractor, means including axles to drive.the tractor, brakes associated with the axles, a driving shaft, a pairof driven shafts interposed between the driving shaftv and said axles,fluid power transmitting means interposed between the driving shaft andeach of the driven xshafts and comprising fluid energizing impellers andenergy absorbing turbines cooperating with the impellers to form powertransmitting fluid circuits, means movable relative to the powertransmitting iiuid circuits to vary the power transmitted from thedriving shaft to each of the driven shafts, manually operable meanscontrolling said last named means, and means operable after apredetermined movement of said manually operable means toactuate thebrakes associated with one of the spaced axles.

2. In a power transmitting device, a driving impellers operablyconnected to the driving shaft, a pair of spaced driven shafts,connecting means between the impellers and the driven shafts comprisingenergy absorbing turbine members cooperating with the impellers to formpower transmitting fluid circuits, a guide wheel having a plurality ofspaced channel portions adapted to be selectively introduced into thepower transmitting iiuid circuit to vary the torque transmittinglcharacteristics of each of the torque converters, fluid pressureresponsive means controlling the position of the guide wheel membersrelative to the power transmitting Vfluid circuits,

and manually operable means for actuating the uid pressure responsivemeans to shift the guide wheel members of the spaced torque convertersto automatically increase the torque transmitting characteristics of oneof the torque converters and to decrease the power transmitted by the Iother of the spaced torque converters.

3. A power transmitting device comprising a driving shaft, a pair ofspaced driven shaftsv aligned with the driving shaft, fluidpowertransmitting means between the driving shaft and each of the -drivenshafts comprising spaced torque converters having cooperating impellerand turbine members carried by the driving and driven shaftsrespectively and cooperating to` form spaced power transmitting fluidcircuits,

guide wheel means having a plurality of spaced channel portions anda-restricting baille adapted to be selectively introduced into the powertransmitting fluid circuit oi' each of the torque con-v verters, fluidpressure responsive means controlling the position of each of the guidewheel mem- .ing shaft, spaced turbotorque converters having.

rotatable fluid energizing impellers operably connected to the drivingshaft, a pair of spaced driven shafts, rotatable energy absorbingturbine members operably connected to the driven shafts and cooperatingwith the impellers to form power transmitting illuid circuits, guidewheel means having a plurality of spaced channel portions adapted' to beselectively introduced into the power transmitting fluid circuit of eachof the torque converters to vary their torque transmittingcharacteristics, brakes for the rotatable members, means controlling theguide wheel means and brakes to successively vary the torque transmittedto each of the spaced driven shafts and thereafter to apply the brakesto the rotatable member receiving the least power.

5. In a power transmitting device for. a motor vehicle having rotatablemembers equipped with brakes comprising a driving shaft, a pair ofspaced turboclutches operably connected to the driving shaft `andcomprising impeller and turbine members cooperating to form powertransmitting fluid circuits, driven` shafts aligned with the drivingshaft, connecting means between the driven shafts and turbine members,axially movable baille means carried by the driven shafts and movableinto the power transmitting fluid circuits, means controlling the baillemembers and I brakes comprising a laterally movable rod, a

linkage interconnecting the laterally movable rod and the axiallymovable baille members, and liquid actuated motion transmitting meansbetween the laterally movable rod and the brakes whereby the powertransmitting num circuit of one of the 'turbo clutches 'may berestricted to decrease the power transmitted to its associated'drivenshaft and thereafter the brakes may be actuated to stop the rotatablemember on one side of the vehicle and the power transmitted to the otherdriven shaft can be automatically increased.

' 6. 4In a power transmitting device for a motor vehicle havingrotatable members, brakes for the rotatable members, a driving shaft,forward and reverse gearing associated with the driving shaft, `manuallyoperable means controlling said forward and reverse gearing, fluid poweractuated power transmitting means carried by the driving shaft andcomprising impellers having fluid energizing vanes, turbine membershaving energy absorbing vanes, cooperating with'the impeller to formpower transmitting circuits, a pair of spaced driven shafts, connectingmeans between the turbine vanes and the driven shafts, means movablerelative to the power transmitting fluid circuits to vary the powertransmitted -through cach of the spaced turbounits, motion transmittingmeans controlling the means movable relative to the fluid circuits andthe brakes, and manually operable means controlling the motiontransmitting means to successively actuate the means movable relative toone of'said fluid circuits and to thereafter apply the brakes to one ofthe rotatable members.

7. In a track laying tractora pair of spaced rotatable members, meansincluding axles to drive said'rotatable members, brakes associated withthe axles, a driving shaft,l a pair of driven shafts interposed betweenthe driving shaft and said axles, fluid clutches interposed between thedriving shaft and each of the driven shafts and comprising fluidenergizing impellers and energy absorbing turbines cooperating with theimpellers to form power transmitting fluid circuits, baille meansmovable relative to the power transmitting fluid circuits to vary thepower transmitted from the driving shaft to each of the driven shafts,manuallyoperable means controlling said last named means, and meansoperable after a predetermined `movement of said manually operable meansto actuate the brakes associated with the axle receiving the leastamount of power to exert a force to steer the track laying tractor.

8. A power transmitting device for a motor vehicle having rotatablemembers comprising a driving shaft, spaced turboclutches havingrotatable fluid energizing impellers driven by the driving shaft, a pairof spaced driven shafts, rotatable energy absorbing turbine memberscarried by the driven shafts and cooperating with the impellers to formspaced power transmitting fluid circuits, baille means to restrict thepower transmitting fluid circuits of each of the turboclutches, brakesassociated with said rotatable members, manually operable means forsuccessively controlling the baille means to restrict the powertransmitting fluid circuit of one of the spaced turboclutches to varythe proportion of power transmitted toeach of the spaced driven shaftsand thereafter to apply the brakes.

9. A power transmitting device comprising a driving shaft, a pair ofspaced torque converters operably connected to the driving shaft andcomprising rotatable impeller and turbine members cooperating toform'power transmitting fluid circuits, driven shafts aligned with thedriving shaft, connecting means between the driven shafts and turbinemembers, axially movable guide wheel means having spaced fluid directingchannels carried by the driven shafts; and movable relative to the powertransmitting `fluid circuits to vary the torque multiplication of thetorque converters, fluid pressure actuated means controlling the guidewheel means, means for actuating the fluid pressure actuated meanscomprising a laterally movable rod and pressure inducing means carriedby the rod whereby the guide wheel means may be shifted axially relativevto the power transmittingv fluid circuits to vary between the drivingshaft and said axles, torque converters interposed between the drivingshaft and each of the driven shafts and comprising fluid energizingimpellers and energy absorbing turbines cooperating with the impellersto f orm 5 power transmitting uid circuits, guide Wheel means having aplurality of spaced channels adapted to be selectively interposed in thepower transmitting uid circuits to vary the power JOSEPH JANDASEK,

